Magnetic Gaze: Isabelle Adjani on Screen

CinéSalon Series
Tuesdays, September 10–October 29, 20194pm & 7:30pm

Magnetic Gaze: Isabelle Adjani on Screen honors one of France’s greatest actresses, lauded for the mesmerizing intensity and sensuality she brings to roles that have inspired multiple generations of directors.

The series will screen 10 of her films by 10 different directors, showcasing her unparalleled commitment to her craft and incandescent presence on screen. The films, selected by Adjani herself, span five decades, from her Academy Award nominated breakout performance in François Truffaut’s The Story of Adele H. (1975) to her most recent film, The World Is Yours (2018), Romain Gavras’s madcap heist film that shows off her underrated comedic talents.

Director James Ivory will make a special appearance following the screening of his film Quartet (1981), which stars Adjani alongside Maggie Smith and Alan Bates. Adjani, who began her acting career on the stage at the Comédie-Française, will also be performing at FIAF in Opening Night (Sep 12–14), presented as part of the Crossing the Line Festival.

Films in French with English subtitles. After each screening, join us for a complimentary glass of wine or beer.

Film Schedule

Romain Gavras’s high-octane comedic thriller finds Isabelle Adjani in hilarious satirical mode as bling-bling Danny, an international pickpocket and suffocating mother, heading to the Costa del Sol with her drug dealer son to pull off one last big haul.

A radiant Isabelle Adjani plays a married aristocrat who tries and fails to resist the advances of an ambitious younger man in this sensitive adaptation of Benjamin Constant’s classic novel of the illusions and cruelties of romantic love. Directed by Benoît Jacquot.

With this emotionally bare biopic, Isabelle Adjani won her third César, was nominated for an Oscar, and righted a historical wrong by turning the spotlight on Camille Claudel, scorned mistress
of Rodin (played by Gérard Depardieu) and an artistic genius in her own right. Directed by Bruno Nuytten.

This Truffaut masterpiece about a real case of obsessive love brought Isabelle Adjani international fame and an Oscar nomination at age nineteen for her haunting performance as Adèle H, the daughter of literary titan Victor Hugo.

This gripping Merchant Ivory adaptation of Jean Rhys’s acclaimed autobiographical novel features Isabelle Adjani as a penniless young woman who is toyed with by a wealthy British couple in 1920s Paris. Directed by James Ivory.

Isabelle Adjani made a triumphant comeback and won a fifth César as Sonia Bergerac, a harried drama teacher who stumbles into becoming a hostage taker after confiscating a gun from a student in her tough high school outside Paris. Directed by Jean-Paul Lilienfeld.

In André Téchiné’s hypnotically stylish blend of film noir and expressionism Isabelle Adjani exudes a magnetic, otherworldly grace in the role of a young woman who discovers her boyfriend’s murderer is his double, and embarks on a relationship with him.

Isabelle Adjani won Best Actress at Cannes and her fourth César for the title role in this spectacular adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’s historical novel La Reine Margot, a tale of romance, bloodshed, and political scheming during the French wars of religion.

This delightful romp about an ambitious political aide whose life is turned upside down when her charming con man of a father resurfaces in Paris proved that Isabelle Adjani’s comedic talents matched her gift for emotionally raw performances of rare intensity. Directed by Jean-Paul Rappeneau.

Was Isabelle Adjani truly possessed while shooting this allegorical fantasy about a couple separating in the shadow of the Berlin Wall? You might think so when you witness her César-winning performance as an alienated housewife and her doppelgänger in this paranoid masterpiece by Andrzej Zulawski.

CinéSalon is supported by Air France and Delta Air Lines, BNP Paribas, Canal +, and Sofitel. CinéSalon is made possible by the NY State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the NY State Legislature. Kronenbourg 1664 is the exclusive beer partner for CinéSalon. Special thanks to the Cultural Services of the French Embassy and the Institut français.